I Do or I Don't: Hosting Your Wedding Over a Holiday Weekend

I get that there are cons* (see below), but none of them really bother me.

CONS

Guests can't make holiday weekend plans of their own. I guess if you're in on a summer rental place this would be annoying, but most of my Fourth of July and Labor Day plans involve deciding which barbecue to hit—something I do most other weekends of the summer, anyway.

Out-of-town guests have to dedicate a whole weekend to your wedding. Most hotels have a two-night minimum on holiday weekends, so guests either have to spend the day before or after your wedding hanging out.

__It might cost your guests more to get there.__In addition to paying for two nights at a hotel, guests will also have to spring for more expensive airfare.

It might take your guests longer to get there. One word: traffic. That said, I think most adults are smart enough to plan around traffic. If you know when traffic's heaviest, um, don't drive then. Maybe I'm more forgiving because I live in New York—where there's always traffic in and out of the city—but it seems like it's easy enough avoid.

PROS

__Guests get more "wedding"... __If a couple's hosting a wedding over a long weekend, they often host a night-before dinner and a post-wedding brunch. So while you're spending more to be there, you're also getting more. And it's fun if you're with people you like—especially people you don't get to see very often.

__... And they don't have to day a day off of work.__For an out-of-town Saturday night wedding, guests will have to take off Friday as a travel day. Move the wedding to Sunday, and they'll need to take off the Monday to get back. Not an issue with a long weekend!

Guests might actually get to speak with the bride and groom. If you have a 200-guest wedding, it's hard to get face time with every guest during a four-hour reception! (Trust me! I've been there!) But add in a dinner and a brunch, and the couple can work the crowd at a more leisurely pace.

What do you guys think? Are you annoyed when you get an invite to a holiday weekend wedding? Do you think it's rude of a couple to monopolize your time? Or are you happy to have plans that don't involve yet another barbecue?

p.s. Here's a recent New York Timesarticle on long-weekend weddings, if you're interested.